Free and Reduced Meals

Please read this letter to find out how parents may save up to $376.20 per elementary child or $478.80 for each high school child in your family during the 2018-2019 school year. The savings occur for families who are eligible for Free or Reduced Meals. Your savings will actually become a financial benefit to the School District.

In an effort to boost revenue for the District, the Lake Park Audubon Board of Education has approved incentives to encourage completion of the "Free and Reduced" meal applications. A family submitting a completed application will choose between two incentive options:

$25 reduction to a Student or Family Activities Pass for each K-12 child enrolled at LPA

$10 credit to the student or family lunch account for each K-12 child enrolled at

The options are available to families who submit a completed application for Free and Reduced Meals prior to September 24 has been extended to October 1st.

The District benefit increases when the number of students receiving Free and Reduced meals rises. The benefits come from Federal and State funding programs and potentially from other grant programs.

The District receives $3.42 for every free and reduced lunch meal served. That is 72 cents more than the District receives for an elementary paid lunch and 12 cents more than a high school paid

LPA currently offers free breakfast to our elementary students. The program is partially funded government programs. If LPA's percent of Free and Reduced eligibility approaches 50%, the program can become fully funded and potentially generate revenue for the

The Minnesota Department of Education provides "Compensatory" revenue to school districts. A primary factor in determining the level of revenue is the percentage of children eligible for Free and Reduced meals. Here is a comparative example of two recent years:

2017 - The percentage of LPA students eligible for Free and Reduced meals = 29.4% and generated $193,806 in Compensatory revenue

2013 - The percentage of LPA students eligible for Free and Reduced meals = 4% and generated $328,873 in Compensatory revenue

The difference of 12% generated $135,067 more revenue for the District in 2013

Other Federal and State grants and programs use Free and Reduced percentages as a qualifying factor in determining grant eligibility or level of eligibility. Depending on the program, that translates into several thousand dollars.

Sincerely,

Dale Hogie, Superintendent

If you have any questions please contact Kathy Hamre at 218-325-0754 ext 1079

Please note the incentive program has been extended to October 1st. The form below does not reflect that change.